‘Afterward, he talked about what it was like to face his former team: “Honestly, it was one of the toughest series I’ve had to go through. When you’re facing a lot of friends — it’s no secret that in the playoffs there are no friends. You’re out there, it doesn’t matter who has the puck, you’re going through them.”’

‘The preseason game will be played on Oct. 4 at Mannheim, the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association announced Tuesday. It will be a homecoming for Sabres forward Jochen Hecht, who is from Mannheim and played five seasons with Adler.’

‘”Yeah, just a lot of disappointment right now,” said Miller when asked to gauge his team’s mood. “We didn’t get off to the start we wanted to, that’s what happens when you don’t step on a team�s throat when you have a chance. We had our opportunity to end this series and we didn’t do it and they came back.”‘

‘Roy suffered a torn left quadriceps before Christmas, underwent surgery soon after and was expected to miss 4-to-6 months. He had been the club’s leading scorer with 35 points (10 goals and 25 assists) in 35 games before the injury.’

”What happened to the Chris Butler we were praising for his postseason poise in Game One? Yikes! For the last few games he resembled the big kid they beg to be on the basketball team before realizing he can’t shoot. Awful positioning, awful choices, awful penalties, awful finish. Hopefully, a learning situation.”

‘Ruff admitted relieving Miller had nothing to do with his game. “I just felt that Jhonas had been a part of getting us to this point and he needed to experience a little bit of this,” Ruff said. “I thought if he could give us a save or a little bit of energy we could fight our way back. It had nothing to do with Ryan’s game. In that case you are looking for the opportunity and I actually thought we scared them for a second, but we didn’t have enough.”‘

‘The Flyers had dominated most of the first period in Game 7, outshooting the Sabres by a 16-2 margin. Buffalo was nearly able to escape the onslaught and go to the dressing room locked in a scoreless tie after 20 minutes, but the Flyers found a crack with just 18.5 seconds left in the frame.’

‘"Those fans are unreal. It was brutal. I wore a Miller jersey, and I was chased around the arena by three Flyers fans and heckled. I’m sure it is going to happen again, and I’m still wearing the Miller jersey," he said.’

‘”You always talk about Game Seven,” Leopold said Monday. “To have that opportunity that I’ve had to play in a few, it’s really exciting. I cherish those games. We’re in the moment right now, and we may as well have fun with it.”‘

‘He might as well keep the Flyers guessing, for what that’s worth. I doubt Peter Laviolette lost sleep over the matter. Ruff can play coy all he likes. Roy is playing tonight. The veteran center is coming back from a four-month quad injury, just in time to help his injury-riddled team in Game Seven of a Stanley Cup series.’